Patriots 30, Panthers 7: Clicking on all cylinders

Friday

Aug 22, 2014 at 9:25 PM

FOXBORO – In the grand scheme of things, the score in any preseason game means as much to the regular season as fantasy football rankings. But if there’s any game in August you can put some stock into – even a little –it’s typically the third.

Mark Daniels Journal Sports Writer MarkDanielsPJ

FOXBORO — In the grand scheme of things, the score in any preseason game means as much to the regular season as fantasy football rankings do. But if there’s any game in August you can take stock in — even a little — it’s typically the third.

That’s the game reserved for the first-team offense and defense to get the most extended playing time they’ll receive until Week One rolls around. It’s one of the best ways to gauge how a team is clicking.

If Friday night’s performance against the Carolina Panthers is any indication, bring on the 2014 season.

The Patriots’ first-team offense and defense played throughout the first half and a series each into the third quarter. By the time Tom Brady & Co. strolled off the turf at Gillette Stadium, they had completely stifled and at some points ran over their foes from the NFC South en route to a 30-7 win.

It took Brady and his offense some time to warm up on Friday. But after they settled for punts in the first two series, things started to click.

When it was all said and done, Brady completed 17 of 21 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns — both to Shane Vereen. At one point, it didn’t look like the Panthers’ secondary was remotely capable of covering Julian Edelman, who caught all eight passes thrown his way for 99 yards.

“Slow start all the way around, and it was good to make some plays there late in the second quarter and the third quarter,” Brady said. “There’s a lot of work to do, but it was fun being out there. Great to win.”

Edelman also returned two punts for 51 yards. The first punt the wideout returned went 30 yards and set up the first score of the game — a Stephen Gostkowski 47-yard field goal at 2:11 of the first quarter. Coach Bill Belichick gave Ryan Mallett his only playing time in that drive, the third of the game, but when Brady came on for the next series he stepped on the gas, and the Pats traveled 91 yards to extend their lead to 10-0.

Brady’s offense struggled to start, as an offensive pass interference call put them at their own 10-yard line faced with a second-and-20. But Brady hit Kenbrell Thompkins for a 21-yard strike on the ensuing third down, and the team didn’t look back. After two more first-down passes to Thompkins (14 yards) and Danny Amendola (8 yards), the Pats got into Carolina territory.

Then faced with a third-and-7 from the Carolina 40, Brady lined up in the shotgun with James White and Vereen on opposite sides of him. When Ryan Wendell snapped the ball, White stayed to block as Vereen ran out to the right flank. As the running back ran near the sideline, no one was there to cover him, and Brady hit him as Vereen sprinted into the end zone unscathed for a 40-yard touchdown.

The Patriots received the ball one final time with 1:47 remaining in the second quarter, and they didn’t let the opportunity go to waste. The offense worked quickly down the field in their two-minute drill, burning their timeouts along the way.

Brady’s last three passes went to Edelman for gains of 8, 13 and 8 to put the Pats at the 42-yard line. And with :08 left in the half, Gostkowski came out to hit a 60-yard field goal — wowing the crowd and extending the Patriots’ lead to 13-0 heading into the second half.

The first-team offense got one last run in the third quarter and made the most of it. After an illegal hands to the face call on Carolina, which came on third down, Brady’s next two passes to Edelman were for gains of 18 and 35 yards. The 35-yard strike set the Pats up at the Carolina 22. After Stevan Ridley took the ball 13 yards to set up a first and goal from the 9-yard line, Brady hit Vereen for a six-yard touchdown pass.

The officials, at first, ruled the play a 4-yard pass, but Bill Belichick challenged the play and it was overruled to a touchdown, and the first-team offense left the game in the third quarter with a 20-0 lead.

“It was a good team win,” Vereen said. “It’s still early, but I think team-wise and offensively-wise we were able to come out and string some plays together.”

Defensively, the Patriots got off to a strong start, with Chandler Jones (six tackles, two sacks) stealing the show. Playing in a 3-4 defense, both Rob Ninkovich (a sack) and Jones looked great while lining up on the edge as outside linebackers.

The defense kept Newton and the Panthers’ offense at bay for the entire first half and for their one series in the third. The defensive line, which started out with Jones and Ninkovich on opposite sides of Tommy Kelly, Vince Wilfork and Joe Vellano completely shut down the Panthers, limiting the team to 2.5 yards per carry.

Steve Beauharnais’s red-zone interception, at the 7-yard line, and return for 61 yards highlighted the second half for the Patriots’ defensive backups. Offensively, Jimmy Garoppolo (9-for-12, 105 yards and a touchdown) was solid once again. The rookie threw an 11-yard pass to linebacker/fullback Taylor McCuller in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots will now move on to their last week of training camp, leading up to their final preseason game, against the New York Giants next Thursday.

“It’s an important week for us to get better. The days are winding down until all these games count,” Brady said. “This game was good because you could really see where you are and see the things you need to get better. I think there’s a lot of things we can improve on.”